BOND Band - The Original Electric String Quartet
Ranked #639 in Music, #15,601 overall
BOND Band - The Best Selling String Quartet of All Time
I actually stumbled on the BOND Band quite recently and was blown away by their music and stage presence.
They have just released their long awaited newest album Play (September 2011) after a 7 year break.
The Bond band is a female string quartet made up neo-classical musicians from the UK and Australia. The four band members Eos Chater, Tania Davis, Haylie Ecker (replaced by Elspeth Hanson in 2008), and Gay-Yee Westerhoff are extremely talented, and the music they produce is beautiful and fun to watch and listen to.
They play classical cross over music, that blends classical music with elements of modern pop, electro, African and hip-hop music on electric string instruments. Their violin crossover music is part of a growing trend among many younger musicians to mix classical music with more mainstream music.
The Band was put together in 2000 by music producer Mike Batt and promoter Mel Bush, who decided to put together a quartet consisting of "four beautiful, talented musicians".
Since BOND's original debut, the girls have sold well over 4 million records worldwide, making them the best-selling string quartet of all time. Their first album Born went to #1 in 21 countries all over the world, their second album Shine went Gold in six countries, and their album Classified went double platinum in Australia.
In 2009 they put their unique take on classical music to the ever popular Vivaldi's Four Seasons. The work was commissioned by Peugeot to launch its new car model 308CC. During the recording, the adaptation of Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons BOND was inspired by their good friend and colleague, Nigel Kennedy. Vivaldi's classic modern style has become the musical signature of BOND. The tracks are available for download from Peugeot's website free of charge.
September 2011 was the release date of their newest album Play first in Mexico and Japan, and later in the USA.
They have made classical music more accessible for people who would not ordinarily listen to such music.
Latest Interviews
Bond musicians: Quartet is anything but 007 | www.albawaba.comThis is a great Interview with the members taken before the "Bond Global Fusion Concert" in Dubai at the end of January 2012
BOND - Out and About
Bond Band Members
Current Members
Elspeth Hanson
Eos Chater
Tania Davis
Gay-Yee Westerhoff
Past Members
Haylie Ecker
The Four Beautiful Talented Musicians
Currently the quartet consists of Tania Davis, Eos Chater, Elspeth Hanson and Gay-Yee Westerhoff. These Four talented musicians complete the bevy of talented and beautiful women that make up BOND
Tania Davis
First violin, formerly viola - from Sydney, Australia
Tania Davis, viola player, is from Sydney, Australia. She has a First Class Bachelor of Music Honours Degree from the Sydney Conservatorium and Postgraduate Diploma in Performance with distinction from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.Her experience includes playing with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Sydney Symphony and the London Symphony Orchestra.
Yamaha SVV-200 Silent Electric Brown 16" Viola
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This is the model used by Tania Davis.
Eos Chater
Second violin - from Cardiff, Wales
Eos Chater, is from Cardiff in Wales. She earned her music degree from the Royal College of Music in London and plays second violin.Before Bond, her work included writing string arrangements and playing with many pop groups including The Divine Comedy, Cocteau Twins, Julian Cope, Gabrielle and Mark Knopfler.
Yamaha SV-130 Concert Select Silent Electric Blue 4/4 Violin
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This is the model used by Eos Chater.
Elspeth Hanson
Viola - from London, England
Elspeth Hanson, first violinist, is from London, England. She studied at the Royal Academy of Music and is studying towards a Masters at the Royal Academy of Music with Richard Deakin.Elspeth Hanson has played at the Proms with the National Youth Orchestra and has recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and the Prague Philharmonia. She played and sang at The Southbank for Oxfam Aid.
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Gay-Yee Westerhoff
Cello - from Hull, England
Gay-Yee Westerhoff, from Yorkshire in England, is the quartet's cellist. She holds an Honours Degree in music from Trinity College of Music in London.Gay-Yee has performed with groups including Primal Scream, Spice Girls, Talvin Singh, Embrace, Sting, Bryan Adams and Barry Manilow.
Yamaha SVC-110SK Acoustic-Body Electric Studio 4/4 Cello
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This model is similar to the model used by Gay-Yee Westerhoff, but hers was customized.
Original Memeber, Left 2008
Haylie Ecker
Viola - from Perth, Australia
Haylie Ecker, first violinist, is from Perth, Australia. She received a First Class Honours Degree in Music and a postgraduate degree in Advanced Solo Studies from London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama.She has played extensively around the world as a soloist and continues her classical violin career in addition to playing with Bond.
Yamaha SV-130 Concert Select Silent Electric Blue 4/4 Violin
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This is the model used by Haylie Ecker.
How much do you now of the band members?
Latest BOND News
BOND was released by Universal in Taiwan on November 04, 2011. BOND played a celebratory concert at the famous Miaoli Festival, in the beautiful mountains of Taiwan, on Sunday 6 November.
Recently BOND performed in Soho, London together with the famous violinist Nigel Kennedy at the Groucho's annual fundraising bash in aid of the world famous Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital appeal and also rocked The Groucho Gang Show.
Currently they are on a short promotional tour for Play (called Play for Smile in Japan) in the far east, they will be hitting Korea, Singapore and Japan. Gay-yee is pregnant so she is not on this tour, to fill her spot temporarily, they have Lizzy May, a brilliant cellist.
BOND - Music Videos
BOND Band Albums at Amazon
Without further ado, here they are:
How well do you know BOND's records?
BOND Hitting The Right Notes
BOND Music at iTunes
Check Out whats Available From This Classical Crossover String Quartet
The Electric Cello, Viola or Violins used by BOND
These instruments are all made well,with good rating, and I just love the design of these electric instruments.
BOND at The Miss Universe 2003 Pageant
BOND played all the background music at this beauty pageant
Here is the Miss Universe 2003 Presentation Show Parade of Nations with BOND playing Fuego.
Follow BOND on Twitter
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How Do You Like The BOND Band Music?
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MelonyVaughan
Apr 24, 2012 @ 1:08 pm | delete
- What a great band! These girls are not just talented, but they are also gorgeous!
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hippiechicjewelz
Apr 19, 2012 @ 10:07 pm | delete
- The music is much different than I am used to listening to, but I like it!
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LubosLabik
Apr 13, 2012 @ 4:21 pm | delete
- NOT PARTICULARLY, but I like this lens :)
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angelsigh
Apr 11, 2012 @ 5:01 pm | delete
- The girls are gorgeous, no doubt but not my kind of music. But I enjoyed your lens. Well, put together and it brought me on enough too see who they are and watch/listen to the videos :)
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JoshK47
Mar 29, 2012 @ 10:09 am | delete
- Thanks for introducing me to them!
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Links To BOND sites
- BOND Official site
- The new BOND official Site, has the latest news.
- BOND Fan Site
- This is the Bond Fan Site
- Old BOND Official Site
- This is the official BOND site
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